Recommended Procedure: Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) Testing in Babies
British Society of Audiology. (2019).
Berkshire (United Kingdom): British Society of Audiology, 1-58.
This guideline adapts and updates the British Society of Audiology (BSA) 2013 document "Guidance for Auditory Brainstem Response testing in babies". The current BSA guidance provides detailed, step-by-step directions for conducting auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing in newborns to 12-week-old infants and for interpreting the results. The following summary highlights broad recommendations to consider. See the BSA's full text document for all of the recommended steps and considerations for ABR assessment.
British Society of Audiology
When conducting newborn hearing screening, audiologists should provide parents and caregivers information and counseling to support shared decision making regarding hearing assessment, technology, and anticipated outcomes.
When preparing to conduct auditory brainstem response testing in infants, the equipment should be checked for reference equivalent threshold sound pressure levels for click and tone pip stimuli prior to use. Checks of the level of stimulus output of the equipment should be conducted at weekly intervals for system artefacts. Testing should be conducted in an environment that meets the standards used for pure-tone audiometry.
As part of newborn hearing screening, threshold auditory brainstem response (ABR) tests should be performed to identify an accurate estimate of hearing thresholds at different frequencies in newborns and age-corrected infants up to 12 weeks of age. See the British Society of Audiology full text for detailed description for conducting and interpreting ABR testing in infants.
